Back to basic

Boredom...
My off days are coming to an end.
I spent the first two days doing my chores, cooking and some laundry.
Then, I had this inspiration of giving Ah Pan, my old buddy a call.
Later in the day, he rang me up and ask if I am coming over to Karak, which is about an hour's drive away from Subang Jaya.
I said 'yes' and went looking for my fishing gear.

The old faithful
I found my obsolete Shakespeare travel fishing rod and my Shakespeare Dimension ultralight reel which I had purchased many, many years ago.
Till now, they are in perfect working condition.
I packed these up and loaded it into my car.
"You going fishing?," Michelle asked.
"Yeah...," I responded.
I haven't been fishing for at least two years. 
Been busy with cycling and photography and had forsaken the most basic hobby.


On the road again...
I found myself on the East Coast Highway.
Destination: Bentong, Pahang.
Arrangements were made to meet Ah Pan at Aik Huat coffee shop in Bentong.
Now, this place is a favourite gathering spot for cyclists, and its also our meeting point.
Before I proceed, I had to drop him off at his mechanic's workshop in the outskirts of Bentong.
"Mr Sam! How are you?," asked Ah Hou, the mechanic.
This successful young man who runs a workshop had just invested in a Polygon Helios 900, and is a regular cycling kaki of Farmer Wong and Ah Pan.
I made my way to Farmer Wong's place in mukim Sertik and was surprised to find so much change has taken place.
The government is building a concrete bridge linking his farm to the outside world.
Farmer Wong's wife, Maggie, has moved out and is living in town with her son Wong Fei.
At the farmhouse, I found out that Ah Pan had inherited Farmer Wong's Colnago road bike, which is worth about RM20,000.
His room is full of bicycles now. I guess the cycling craze had gripped Farmer Wong.

Ah Pan and the bikes

Walking the dog and checking out the new fish pond

Plenty of catching up to do
Farmer Wong is a happy man.
His growing plot is the only Good Agricultural Practise (GAP) farm in Pahang.
Now, he is the prime example of hardwork.
I was also glad to see my article on his effort being pinned on his wall.
Wong told me that he had invested in freshwater fish aquaculture.
This is expected to generate about RM100K a year during harvest.
I am glad that things are working out for my friends..


A skill that will never go away.. 
I learned to fish at the age of 9.
And as far as I could remember, my first catch was a Tilapia (Tilapia mossambicus) landed on a handline at an abandoned housing project in Kampung Baru. 
I have fished in streams, lakes and the ocean. 
This outing is no different. 
I call it a refresher course..

My catch: A red Tilapia

The patience game

A decent lunch: Curry wild boar and a fried egg

Fishing is fun!
Ah Pan led me to a pond at the other side of the farm.
It was inhabited by an old farmer, who was paralyzed after a stroke some months back.
Today, he is in a great shape and to my surprise, the old dude speaks fluent English!
We spent a couple of hours fishing there, while the old farmer wanted some manure from Farmer Wong's place.
Ah Pan landed the most Tilapia which was released back to the pond.
I managed to land a few and before we knew it, the weather had ran foul.
We went back to the farm as I made my way back to Bentong to drop off Ah Pan at his mechanic's workshop.
Spent the evening in Bentong exploring some food stalls which I never knew existed and later head back out to the highway home.
To me, it was a weekend well-spent with friends. 
And Sunday, its back to the grind!

All-weather compact cameras

Moisture destroys...
One of the best compact cameras I've ever used is the Canon Powershot G-12.
Its now in the workshop awaiting parts as moisture had seeped into the camera's circuit board.
Yes, I am guilty as charged for working the camera down.
Seems that sweat was the main cause as part of the steel plating in the camera had rusted.


Traditionally speaking.. 
All-weather cameras are a tough lot.
They can be dropped and dunked (well, to a certain threshold) and still snap away.


But, but, but, but... 
To make up for the ruggedness, the optical clarity and quality are sacrificed.
The image quality from such cameras are only so-so. Maybe with one exception, the Panasonic Lumix TS4.. Yeah, yeah, yeah.. I don't trust a company that makes refrigerators and washing machines to manufacture cameras.. 


Top 4 All-weather cameras


Panasonic Lumix TS4

The washing machine that captures images: Lumix TS4

With a street price of RM1.6k, the TS4 is top of the four contenders. 

Thanks to its Leica lens, this pocket camera is able to yield some sharp photos, even under low-light settings. Its GPS-enabled to allow Geo-tagging of your images. Best battery life I've come across so far.

Nikon AW-100

Hands-down, one of the best design in the lot

The Nikon guys got this one right. 

Compact, rugged, GPS-enabled and with a pricetag of RM1.1k (*discounted, add RM80 for a spare battery and a free 8GB SD card), it has the best purchase package. Available in four colours too! Image quality is just above average and if you sweat like a beast like me on your rides, you will appreciate this little bugger!

Olympus tough TG-810

Tough is the name, but image quality is not so game.. 

As far as I can remember, Olympus cameras have been manufacturing a lot of weatherproof pocket cameras.

The TG-810 is a fine example of the evolution. This camera can take a beating. But, image quality isn't the best around. Its also pricey and not as user-friendly as the others in its class..

Pentax WG-1

A featherweight camera, but not heavy weight in terms of image quality

I picked up a WG-1 for my buddy Bob.

The purpose was to get it for his King Scout trainee to record his progress.

This, thrown-in with a spare battery, was at a cost of RM1.6k. Very pricey despite its below-average image quality. My worry here is the humidity that is not friendly at all to its rubberized body. On a scale of 1 - 10, the WG-1 scores are meager 3. 

Conclusion

If you don't care about image quality, the all-weather cameras are there for you to record your day out at the beach, swimming pool, white water rafting and other activities where moisture can put your camera out of action.

The Panasonic, well, lived up to its washing-machine image, tops the list with its TS4, while Nikon is the number-two contender. I don't see any Canon compact camera that can come near all four cameras mentioned here. Perhaps, when I get my G1X, I might want to opt for a rain jacket so that sweat won't put it out of action!

Making friends through cycling

Ageing and the shrinking social circle...
Some guys can cope with middle-age while others look for ways to stay young.
The vain ones are still hanging out in clubs, hoping to score a one-night stand while living in denial.
Reality creeps in pretty fast.
At 40+, all the issues that shorten your life expectancy seeps in.
Heart problems, hypertension, diabetes, erectile dysfunction and the list keeps piling up.
One of the things that I really appreciate is that I keep making friends. 
Some are good, others are just there for you, a handful, well, they put you in place and remind you that the world isn't exactly what you see.


Cycling and meeting people
Michelle and I started to join peer groups. 
We needed to gain experience and as one of the gurus had stated it: "When its time to go, its time to go.."
We've met some really wonderful people and some really nasty ones too!
Nowadays, with work commitment piling up to my chin, joining social rides would be a real challenge. 
I've been put to work on days where such an event is held.
Being a leisure cyclist on a folding bike, I don't see myself on the starting line, so, competitive events are considered a no-no

New found friends: At Putrajaya with Mr KW Mui and son Samuel

The good, bad and ugly
I must say that 70% of the people I met are good, while 20% were ugly and the rest are just plain simple bad.
With folding bikes gaining popularity, the pioneer batch of cyclists whom I met a couple of years ago had moved one. Some had dropped out of the scene.
There are more new cyclists nowadays and I can see them popping up at events.
Most were too new to explore the great outdoors on their own.
Nowadays, I rather keep things simple and do my own trips with Michelle.
We agreed that there are people out there who are shameless enough to take advantage of the more experienced cyclists by making them do everything from planning trips, changing their inner tubes and even paying for their meals. 
Sad, but true...


Light at the end of the tunnel...
Well, I got to say that not all is lost.
Some folks are still sincere and the reason why they take up cycling is to have fun.
Gone on my list, are the ambitious ones who take credit for things they didn't do, people who take full advantage of cyclists to promote their goods and idiots who endanger the lives of cyclists who ride with them..
I've met some people who are stand-up guys. They do things without putting themselves in the limelight and never let ego get in the way. I wish there are more of them, but these guys are there to pull things together, which is a blessing! You can never ask for more...